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).
24th November 1916
Two men with a connection to Solihull died on 24th November 1916 – old Silhillian, Private William Anthony Machin, 16th Battalion, Midddlesex Regiment, and Corporal John William Skelcher, 5th Battalion, Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry.
22nd November 1916
Private Frederick Clifford Baulcombe, 7th Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment, died in Salonika on 22nd November 1916. Aged 22, he was the second member of the Baulcombe family to be killed in action. His eldest brother, Frank, died in 1915. Two other brothers – Harry and Harold – also served in the war and survived.
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.
16th November 1916
Private Jack Tandy, “B” Company, 11th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, was killed in action on 16th November 1916 at the age of 20. He was born in Knowle on 3rd October 1896 and was baptised four days later at Knowle parish church on 7th October. He was the youngest of the three sons of parents Joseph, a farm labourer from Barston, and Elizabeth (née Cooper) from Knowle. The couple married in Knowle on 3rd February 1889. His two brothers both died as infants – Joseph William Tandy died in December 1890, aged 17 months, whilst Archie James Edwin died in June 1896, aged 14 months. Elizabeth must have been some five months pregnant with Jack, when her son Archie died.
Tragically, Elizabeth seems to have died as a result of childbirth, being herself buried at Knowle churchyard on 12th October 1896, nine days after Jack’s birth. She was 36 years old.
23rd October 1916
Two local men died on 23rd October 1916. Private Oscar William Bowen, 3rd Battalion Warwickshire Volunteer Regiment died at home, Ladbrook Park, Tanworth-in-Arden, and Driver Charles Henry Haynes, 31st Bde. Small Arms Ammunition Column, Royal Field Artillery who was killed in Salonika when his dugout collapsed.
Solihull Life 