Tag: Hockley Heath

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.

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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.

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5th October 1915

Frank Baulcombe was born in Kenilworth on 18th February 1891, the fourth child and eldest son of the ten children born to parents Frederick (an insurance agent, previously a confectioner and baker) born in Eastbourne, Sussex and Selina (née Clarke), born at Moreton Bagot, Warwickshire. The couple had married at Claverdon on 5th January 1886. Frederick was a widower – he had married his first wife, Mary Page, on 31st January 1882 in Kenilworth  and their only child, Marian Bertha Baulcombe, was born in Leamington at the end of the year. Mary died in 1884, aged 28.

Frank, a gardener at Umberslade before the war, was killed in action at Neuve Chappelle on 5th October 1915, whilst serving as a Private with the Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. He was 24 years old.

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29th August 1915

We’re not quite sure of the connection with Hockley Heath of Private Thomas Cecil Davies (also listed in some records as Davis) who died on 29th August 1915 serving as a Private with the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. He was born in Yardley in 1889 and lived there until at least 1901. His mother, Annie, died between 1901 and 1911. By 1911, his widowed father, Thomas, had moved to the Lodge, Chelmsley House, Marston Green, but Thomas Cecil was not listed with him.

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25th August 1915

Private Sidney Butler, 8th Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, who died at sea on 25th August 1915 is commemorated on the war memorial at St Patrick’s Church, Salter Street.

He was born in 1893 in Kenilworth, Warwickshire to parents Thomas and Hannah (also recorded in records as Annie), who married in 1885. Sidney seems to have been the eldest of eight children who survived infancy out of the 12 children born to the couple.

Parents, Thomas and Hannah, were recorded in Kenilworth on the 1911 census with seven of their eight children: Theresa (16); Jesse (14); Winnie (12); Bertie (13); Nellie (9); Edward (7); and Ethel (3). 19-year-old Sidney was living in Anglesey, and working as a 2nd footman.

Sidney is listed on the Kenilworth War Memorial, but we don’t know his connection with Salter Street. Presumably, he must have moved to the parish between 1911 and when he enlisted in the Army. If you have any further information, please let us know.

Tracey
Heritage & Local Studies Librarian
tel.: 0121 704 6977
email: heritage@solihull.gov.uk

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16th August 1915

Three days after the death of Private Joseph Williams aboard the hospital ship, Valdivia, another local man also died of wounds on board the same ship.

Lance Corporal Charles Thomas Hutchings, only surviving child of parents Thomas (a tailor) and Matilda Hutchings of Bentley Heath, Dorridge and Knowle, died on 16th August 1915, serving with the 9th Battalion Worcestershire Regiment. He is recorded as a Lance Corporal in Soldiers Died in the Great War but as a Private on the Commonwealth War Graves website.

Charles was born in 1895 in Birmingham but by 1901 he and his parents were living at Bentley Heath with his grandfather, Richard Hutchings, who was a widower, aged 54. By 1911, Charles and his parents had moved to Tile House Green, Knowle. Charles was the couple’s only surviving child, but the census notes that he had had a sibling who had died.

Charles was educated at Solihull School and was a member of the Officers’ Training Corps there. He joined the Army on 17th August 1914, and first entered a Theatre of War (Balkans) on 4th July 1915. He is commemorated at Dorridge, Knowle and Hockley Heath war memorials, and at Dorridge Cricket Club, although he is not included on the war memorial at Solihull School.

If you have any further information about Charles Thomas Hutchings, please let us know.

Tracey
Heritage & Local Studies Librarian

Tel.: 0121 704 6977
email: heritage@solihull.gov.uk

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26th July 1915

Private William Tarver, 1st Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment, died on 26th July 1915 in France. Born in Solihull in 1880, he was the second of seven children born to Henry Osborne Tarver and his wife, Elizabeth.

Henry and Elizabeth were both born in Gloucestershire, and their eldest son, Thomas, was born there in 1879. They had moved to Solihull by the time of William’s birth a year later, and were living at 19, Blossomfield by the time of the 1881 census. Henry was recorded as a waggoner.

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25th June 1915

George Frederick Bevins was born in Sparkhill, Birmingham on 11th June 1896. His father, Henry Sharpe Bevins (1863-1920), was a builder and contractor, born in Birmingham. His mother, Emily (née Payne) was born in Monkspath (according to the 1891 census) or Hockley Heath (according to the 1901 census). The couple had married in 1888 and went on to have nine children, of whom one had died by 1911, and three sons died in the war.

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