sharing Solihull's local history
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.
Two local men died on 12th January 1917 whilst on active service – Private Philip Hugh Gwyther, who was born in Castle Bromwich, and Private William Thomas Price. Private Gwyther was serving with the 1st Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment, whilst Private Price was with the 10th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment.
Two local men lost their lives on 9th January 1917 whilst serving in the Armed Forces.
Commander The Hon. Richard Orlando Beaconsfield Bridgeman RN, DSO, the son of the 4th Earl of Bradford of Castle Bromwich Hall, drowned whilst on active service in East Africa (modern Tanzania) with the Royal Navy. Second Lieutenant Arthur Gordon Robinson died in France whilst serving with the 2nd Special Company, Royal Engineers.
35-year-old Private John Harvey from Castle Bromwich died of epilepsy on 6th January 1917 whilst serving with the Reserve Battalion, Coldstream Guards.
John was the fifth child and eldest son of the eight children (three sons, five daughters) of parents Walter (a labourer) and Hannah (née Wilkinson), who had married at St Peter & St Paul’s Church, Aston in 1872. All of the children were born in Castle Bromwich, which was also their mother’s place of birth.
20-year-old Private Charles Edwin Preece died of sickness on 4th January 1917, serving in France with the 1st/8th Battalion Worcestershire Regiment. He was born in Solihull on 28th February 1896, and was the third of the four children (two sons, two daughters) born to parents Thomas William (a jobbing gardener) and Mary Ann (née Chamberlain). The couple had married on 20th September 1890 at St Alphege Church.
Gunner Albert Victor Dixon, 208th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, died of wounds in France on 27th December 1916, aged 38.
Captain Guy Livingston Boddington, 6th Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment, was reported missing in action, believed captured, on 19th December 1916, after going out on night patrol. His parents, Samuel (a woollen merchant) and Eliza, lived at Hillfield Hall, Solihull having moved there from Edgbaston between 1901 and 1905.
Private Arthur Edward Oakes died on 18th December 1916, aged 18, serving with the 2nd/8th Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment. He was born in Solihull on 1st April 1898, and was baptised at St Alphege Church on 12th June 1898. He was the sixth of the eight children known to have been born to parents, Frank (a bricklayer) and Mary (née Sabin), who had married in Stretton-on-Fosse in 1888.
Company Quarter Sergeant Major Duncan Nicholl, aged 35, died of wounds on 16th December, serving with the 2nd/7th Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment. Born in Berkswell in 1881, he was the younger son of parents John William and Eleanor Nicholl (née Sumner), who were both schoolteachers at the elementary school in the village. John was born in Giggleswick, Yorkshire but had moved to Stafford by 1877, where he married Gloucester-born Eleanor, who was living in Wolstanton.
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).
Solihull Life 