Henry James Fell, a former Private with the 1/8 Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, died on 12th February 1921 as a result of pneumonia following malaria. Known as Harry, he was born in Knowle in 1892 and was the only child of parents Stephen Henry Fell, a jobbing gardener, and Fanny Rebecca (née Fisher), a charwoman.
Continue reading “12th February 1921”V. J. Day in Solihull, 1945
V. J. Day, 15th August 1945, marked the day when the Second World War effectively came to an end as Japan surrendered and all hostilities ceased.
The Warwick County News, 18th August 1945, summarised local events with the headline “Neighbourly co-operation was the keynote of Solihull’s VJ-Day celebrations” and the observation that the day was marked by a “mood of quiet thanksgiving or in the exuberant relief of pent-up feelings according to age or nature.”
29th December 1919
Francis George Harris, formerly a Gunner with the Royal Garrison Artillery, died at Birmingham General Hospital on 29th December 1919. He had been discharged from the Army in March 1919 so does not appear as a war casualty on official records, although he is commemorated locally in the Soldiers’ Chapel, Knowle. He is also listed on the Roll of Honour for Packwood amongst those who served.
7th March 1919
Private Charles Haines, 4th Battalion, South Wales Borderers, died of pneumonia on 7th March 1919 at the University War Hospital, Southampton. His death certificate gives his age as 22, but his grave in Knowle churchyard gives his age as 21.
22nd February 1919
Henry Cecil Johnson, aged 31, died at home in Knowle on 22nd February 1919. He is buried in Knowle churchyard and his gravestone notes that he “died from injuries received in the Great War.” He served as a Private with the 1st/6th Royal Warwickshire Regiment T.F. from September 1914 until transfer to the Labour Corps in December 1917 and then to the Railway Transportation Service, Royal Engineers in June 1918.
13th November 1918
Corporal William Stokes, “A” Signal Depot, Royal Engineers, died of pneumonia on 13th November 1918 at Kempston Military Hospital, near Bedford. He was 41 years old and, prior to the war, was a bricklayer’s labourer.
11th November 1918
On the same day as the Armistice was agreed at 5am, and fighting came to an end at 11am, Air Mechanic 3rd Class, Ernest Stain, died of pneumonia in Lincoln Hospital, aged 21.
8th November 1918
Three men with a local connection died on 8th November 1918 – Gunner John Edward Herbert Harrison, 536th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery; Private Stephen Hastings, 2nd/4th Field Bakery, Royal Army Service Corps; and Sergeant Howard William Smith, 2nd Battalion (Knowle and Dorridge detachment), Royal Warwickshire Volunteers.
25th October 1918
Two local men lost their lives on 25th October 1918 whilst on active service – Private Francis Richard Corbett, 1st Battalion, Duke of Edinburgh’s (Wiltshire) Regiment and Captain Bertram Walter Mockley Pearson, Army Service Corps.
23rd October 1918
Five men with a local connection died on 23rd October 1918:
- Lance Corporal Harry Matthew Bradburn, 20th Battalion Manchester Regiment
- Private Oliver Cranmer, 2nd Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment
- Corporal Frederick Alfred Johnson, A Battery, 115th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
- Shoeing Smith Frank Selfe, Z Battery, 5th Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery
- Private John Howard Whittle, 1st/8th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment
