sharing Solihull's local history
Two men from Castle Bromwich and one from Marston Green died on the first day of the First Battle of the Somme
Continue reading “1st July 1916 – Castle Bromwich and Marston Green”
Second Lieutenant Frank Dudley Evans from Castle Bromwich died of wounds on 9th June 1916 after a flying accident at Bristol. He was 18 years old and was serving with the 4th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, attached to the Royal Flying Corps (RFC).
The Newcastle Journal 12th June 1916 reported that the engine of his [Avro 504] biplane misfired at about 150 feet, but that he continued climbing to about 400 feet when the aircraft made a very flat turn and nosedived to the ground. Lieutenant Evans suffered a fractured skull. His coffin was draped in a Union Flag, topped with a large floral cross from his comrades, and was borne back to Castle Bromwich on a transport wagon by officers and men of the Royal Flying Corps. His funeral was held at St Mary & St Margaret’s Church, with the choir singing “Lead, Kindly Light” and the large congregation included a uniformed detachment of Red Cross auxiliary nurses, of whom his mother was an officer.
28-year-old William Stanley Morgan was killed in action on 6th June 1916, serving as a Corporal with the 1st/6th Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment.
He was born in Bordesley in 1888, and was the second of three sons born to parents John Crutchley Morgan, grocer, and his wife Annie Beatrice (née Holworthy). The family moved from Bordesley to Castle Bromwich sometime between 1901 and 1912. Trade directories show John Crutchley Morgan living at Coniston, The Green, Castle Bromwich in 1912, and Fairview, Castle Bromwich in 1913. The family had moved to Bordesley Green by 1916.
Private Arthur Eden was one of the nine surviving children of John and Maria Eden who lived in New Street, Castle Bromwich. Six of his seven brothers also served in the war, whilst the remaining brother was previously a regular soldier and wasn’t fit enough to re-enlist. Two of the brothers died in the war, with Arthur being the first to be killed, on 26th May 1916, whilst serving as a Private with the 2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment. His younger brother, Frank, was killed two months later.
Second Lieutenant Guy Llewellyn Gwyther died on 6th January 1916 serving with the 2nd Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment. Born on 23rd July 1882 at Castle Bromwich, he was baptised at St Mary & St Margaret’s Church on 18th October 1882. He was the second youngest of the five children (four sons, one daughter) of parents Julian (a solicitor in Birmingham) and Dorothy Hannah (née Hughes). The two eldest children were born in Water Orton, whilst the other three were all born in Castle Bromwich. All four sons served in the First World War, with two of them – Guy and Philip – losing their lives. Their father, Julian, died in 1908 so was spared the knowledge of the death of two of his sons.
Two local non-commissoned officers (NCOs) were killed in action on 15th December 1915:
Neither man was born in these parishes – both had moved from their birthplace and settled in the area.
Three men with a local connection died on 8th December 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.
The 25th September 1915 saw British forces launch an attack on German positions at Loos, Belgium. At the same time, the French attacked German lines at Champagne and Vimy Ridge in the Arras region of France.
The First Battle of Loos lasted from 25th September until 19th October and was the first time that Allied forces used gas as a weapon. 25th September saw German machine guns kill 8,500 men in a single day, the greatest loss of life since the war began. Only 2,000 0f the first-day casualties have a known grave. Seven local men also died on 25th September:
Harry Mitchell Harris and Sydney William Wootton, two men with a connection to Knowle and Castle Bromwich respectively, died on 30th August 1915 but we don’t know exact details of the local link in either case.
Solihull Life 