Private Walter Edward Woodward was killed in action on 22nd February 1917, serving with the 11th Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment. Born in Knowle in 1878, he was baptised at Knowle parish church on 5th May 1878 and was the second of the six children of parents William Wyatt Woodward (a coachman) and Louisa (née Allsop), who had married in 1875. Walter had an older brother, William Thomas (1877-1934) and four younger siblings: Charles Frederick (born 1879); Edith Mary (1882-1952); Grace Louisa (1884-1947) and Ernest John (1885-1963).
16th February 1917
Two local men died on 16th February 1917: Private Percy William Elliott, 1st Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment and Private Frederick William Mander, 1st/6th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment.
13th February 1917
Private Sidney Britt died of wounds on 13th February 1917, serving with the 4th Battalion, South Wales Borderers. He was the youngest of ten children from Elmdon, three of whom died in the war. Serving regular soldier, Albert Henry, was killed in 1914 and his brother, William Henry (who served in the militia 1900-1902) died in November 1917. Sidney was the second of the brothers to die in the war.
26th January 1917
Corporal William Robert Smith, 4th Battalion Coldstream Guards died of testicular cancer in Birmingham on 26th January 1917, two days after his 21st birthday. He was the youngest of the nine children (four sons, five daughters) of parents Richard (an agricultural labourer) and Ann (née Ward). The couple had married in 1875 and then lived at Shelly Green before moving to Bentley Heath by 1891, where Richard’s parents, William and Maria, also lived. The family remained at Bentley Heath until at least 1911.
16th January 1917
Private Shirley Palmer Coton from Copt Heath was killed in action in Mesopotamia on 16th January 1917, serving with the 9th Battalion Worcestershire Regiment.
Baptised at St Alphege Church, Solihull on Christmas Eve, 1893, he was the only son of parents James (a labourer) and Julia (née Smith) who had married at the church in 1892. He also had a younger sister, Winifred Mary (1896-1927) who was baptised at Knowle as Victoria Winifred Mary on 12th April 1896.
27th December 1916
Gunner Albert Victor Dixon, 208th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, died of wounds in France on 27th December 1916, aged 38.
12th December 1916
33-year-old Private Thomas Gibbs died on 12th December 1916, serving as a Private with the 169th Company, Army Service Corps. Born in Golden End, Knowle in 1884, he was baptised at Knowle Parish Church on 4th May 1884. He was the youngest of four children, having an older brother, George (1879-1902) and two older sisters, Louisa (1877-1967) and Fanny (1882-1956).
18th November 1916
Three local men died on 18th November 1916: Private Thomas Howard Glover, 10th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment; Private Robert Hall, 10th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment; and Second Lieutenant William Douglas Henderson, 1st/8th Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment.
22nd September 1916
23-year-old Private Job William Mason, 3rd Battalion Coldstream Guards, died of wounds on 22nd September 1916 at No. 1 South African General Hospital, Abbeville, France. The hospital had begun admitting patients on 17th July 1916, although it was staffed by temporary nursing staff from the adjacent No. 2 Stationary Hospital until the arrival on 4th August of a Matron and nurses from England. See the Scarlet Finders website for more information on the S.A.G. Hospital, Abbeville.
27th July 1916
18-year-old Private Clarence Alfred Sinclair Smith died on 27th July 1916, serving as a Private with “B” Company, 16th Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment. He was born in Knowle on 27th June 1898, and baptised at Knowle parish church on 14th August 1898. His father, Alfred, was listed as an insurance agent and the family was living at Kenilworth Road, Knowle.
Solihull Life 