Ilkley in The First World War

SHIP’S MASTER GEORGE EDWARD ANDREW, MERCHANTILE MARINE, STEAMSHIP MONTEBELLO. LOST AT SEA 21 st JUNE 1918 AGED 49 YEARS . George Andrew was born in Howden Workhouse in East Yorkshire where his father Henry was the Master and his mother Ellen the Matron. The youngest of five children he lived in the workhouse throughout his childhood, although, he would have suffered none of the privations that were imposed upon the inmates. Evidence suggests that George joined the Merchant Navy when he was about 15 as an apprentice sailing out of the port at Greenock in Scotland. In 1896 he had qualified as a First Mate and two years later as Master, which would have allowed him to captain ships from Britain to foreign ports. It appears that he then worked for Thomas Wilson Sons and Co, who owned a large fleet of ships mostly operating out of Hull. It is believed that George married a woman called Annie Precious in Poplar London in 1901 and by 1913 her name appears on the electoral register

PRIVATE 203682 FREDERICK BOTT, 2/5 th WEST YORKSHIRE REGIMENT. KILLED IN ACTION 18 th MAY 1918 AGED 36 YEARS. Fred Bott’s death on the Western Front left his wife, Elizabeth a widow and four young children without a father. Born in Ilkley he had spent his whole life in the town before he was called up by the army in 1916. A gardener by trade he worked for Norman Daniel at one of the many nurseries that dotted Ilkley in the early years of the 20 th Century and which provided fresh fruit and vegetables to local grocers. Fred was one of seven children born to Philip and Maria Bott who lived on Wellington Road although all his brothers and sisters had died in infancy leaving him the only surviving child. In 1908 he married Elizabeth Padgett and set up home in a small terraced house at 13 Wellington Road where they raised their young family. In November 1916 Fred Bott was called up and joined the West Riding Regiment and by October of 1917 found himself in France assign

PRIVATE 81600 JOHN HENRY COULTAS 15 th BATTALION DURHAM LIGHT INFANTRY. KILLED IN ACTION 29 th MAY (PRESUMED) 1918. In 2008 Michael Coultas and his three sons made a pilgrimage to the small French town of Soissons to visit the massive British war memorial made of Portland Stone which stands next to the road to Rheims. It was an act of remembrance that had brought them to this corner of France for on one of the many panels of the memorial was the name of Michael’s uncle, John Coultas, who had been killed 90 years before.  Nearly 4000 names are recorded at Soissons of men of the British Army who fought to defend France in 1918 and who, like John, have no known grave. John Coultas had been born in Ilkley in 1896 and had lived with his parents Hermon and Sarah and his two brothers in a small terraced house at 11, Wilmot Road.  His father was a signalman on the railway and worked at the signal box outside Ilkley Station just a few yards from his home. In time John would also

2nd LIEUTENANT RALF LESLIE MACKRIDGE 1 st BATTALION WEST YORKSHIRE REGIMENT. KILLED IN ACTION 26 th APRIL 1918 AGED 20 YEARS Born in Barnsley on 21 st March 1898 Ralf was the oldest son of Thomas and Clara Mackridge. The family moved to Ilkley after the turn of the new century and opened an ironmongers and confectioners shop at 19 The Grove (today occupied by Eddisons Estate Agent).  Ralf was a pupil at Ilkley Grammar School and on the completion of his schooling began agricultural training. By the beginning of the war the family had moved to Wombwell and in May 1916 Ralf went to Pontefract and enlisted into the Cameron Highlanders. Ralf arrived in France in September 1916 as part of a draft of reinforcements for the 5 th Battalion Cameron Highlanders. He remained with this battalion until July the following year during which time he would have seen a considerable amount of front line action. Identified as potential officer material he left the battalion on the 17 th Ju

PRIVATE 321866 CHARLES HARRISON WHITEHEAD, 17 TH BATTALION NORTHUMBERLAND FUSILIERS (NORTH EAST RAILWAY PIONEERS). DIED OF WOUNDS 20 TH APRIL 1918 AGED 20 YEARS. Charles was born in Addingham in the spring of 1898 the only son of Alfred and Mary Whitehead. His father was a signalman on the railway and worked in Ilkley and before the war the family moved to Ben Rhydding living at 10 Sunset Terrace. Like his father Charles chose the railways for his career and worked as a goods clerk for the North Eastern Railway at the Marsh Lane Goods Depot in Leeds. It was in July 1916 that Charles enlisted into the 17 th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers. This was a ‘Pals’ Battalion that was made up entirely of railwaymen who had worked for the North Eastern Railway. On the Western Front it became a pioneer unit used largely in construction works especially the building of light railways behind the front line which were used to transport both men and stores. As a pioneer battalion

LANCE BOMBARDIER 93240 GEORGE HENRY EARNSHAW, 323 rd SEIGE BATTERY, ROYAL GARRISON ARTILLERY. DIED OF WOUNDS18th APRIL 1918, AGED 32 YEARS. The third of seven children of Edwin and Ada Earnshaw, George was born on 11 th May 1885 at 43 Brook Street, Ilkley. His father was a watchmaker and jeweller and the family and servants lived above the shop. Edwin Earnshaw died in 1889 and the business was carried on by his wife Ada and his eldest son. George attended the Ilkley National School on Leeds Road and later Bradford Technical College on Great Horton Road where he undertook a commercial course. His first job was at the age of 16 when he went to work for Messrs. William Haggas and Sons, wool spinners of Cross Roads, near Keighley. Clearly, George had an aptitude for business and was rapidly promoted and by the age of 22 was a salesman for the firm. In 1911 he sought a more senior position with the firm of E.H. Gates and Co. and it was whilst working for the company the war brok

PRIVATE   267543 CHARLES ALLAN EMMOTT 1/6 TH BATTALION WEST RIDING REGIMENT. KILLED IN ACTION 11 TH APRIL 1918 AGED 22 YEARS. By the middle of April 1918 the German offensive in the Somme area that had begun on the 21 st March began to peter out. In response, the German High Command switched the main axis of their attack north in Belgium. The Lys Offensive as it became known was an attempt to capture the strategically important town of Ypres which had been in British hands since 1914. On the 10 th April they struck towards the city using the same hurricane bombardment and infiltration tactics that had been so successful a few weeks earlier on the Somme. A weak Portuguese Division had crumpled in the face of the German onslaught and adjacent British units were unable to stem the violent attack. Soon, just as had happened on the Somme the front line began to disintegrate sending the British into headlong retreat. The 1/6 th West Riding Regiment were in the front line to the so

SUB LIEUTENANT  NORMAN MALLARD, ROYAL NAVAL AIR SERVICE. DROWNED 30 TH MARCH 1918 AGED 17 YEARS. At about 11am on the morning of the 30 th March 1918, trainee pilot Norman Mallard took off from the War School at Manston airfield in Kent in a single seat Sopwith Camel and flew north towards the Thames Estuary at Westgate on Sea. Flying out over the bay where a number hydrogen balloons were positioned he was involved in an exercise to practice shooting them down. At 11.26am Norman positioned himself for a practice attack and dived at full throttle towards the balloons below. At about 500 feet above sea level he appears to have lost control of the plane which went into a steep tail spin and crashed into the water. Rescuers dashed to the scene of the crash and pulled the young pilot from the wreckage of his plane, but sadly he was found to be dead. Norman Mallard was born in Streatham South London on the 12 th July 1898 the son of Peter, who worked for a newspaper and Amy,

2ND LIEUTENANT GUY RUSSELL WILLANS, 2ND BATTALION LANCASHIRE FUSILIERS. DIED OF WOUNDS 29TH MARCH 1918 AGED 19 YEARS. Born in 1898 in the Wortley area of Leeds Guy Willans was the second son of John Willans and his wife Emily. His father was a wealthy cloth manufacturer who was also a director in the large firm of Hargreave and Nussey who had a large factory in Farnley. The family owned a number of homes in Leeds as well as a country house in Austwick in the Craven District a nd a large terraced house at 5 St Margaret’s Terrace in Ilkley which became their main home. Guy was sent to Leeds Grammar School which was then located on Moorland Road in the Headingley are of the city and where he was academically very successful. In 1917 he was accepted as a student at Keble College, Oxford where he hoped to study for the clergy but instead he chose to enlist in the army. Granted an immediate commission he joined the 3rd Battalion of the Lancashire Fusiliers and in late 1917 was

PRIVATE 205387 JAMES HAIGH 2/4TH BATTALION WEST RIDING REGIMENT. KILLED IN ACTION 26TH MARCH 1918 AGED 29 YEARS. As the German Army continued to batter the British lines in the area around the River Somme, further north the 2/4th West Riding Battalion was holding the line to the north west of Arras. On the 25th March 1918 the battalion was ordered south to help halt the rapid advance of the German Army. Marching through the night they arrived at the small village of Bucquay w here they dug in and prepared for the inevitable enemy onslaught. In the early hours of the following morning the German artillery began to bombard the positions occupied by the West Riding battalion causing many casualties amongst the defenders. Soon German infantry were encountered and in the violent battle that followed the defenders were gradually forced to give ground. 29 year old James Haigh was one of those defenders who was killed during the violent battle. Born in 1889 at 128 Main Street, Burley i

PRIVATE 235102 ERNEST WAUGH, 5TH BATTALION WEST RIDING REGIMENT. KILLED IN ACTION 26TH MARCH 1918 AGED 36 YEARS. The 5th Battalion of the West Riding Regiment had been in the line at Arras at the commencement of the German Spring Offensive on the Somme Sector on 21st March 1918. It soon became apparent to the British that the ferocity of the German attacks would continue unabated. As the British retreated and with the ever present possibility that this would turn into a rout,  fresh battalions were moved south to hold the line on the Somme. On the 25th March 1918 the 5th Battalion West Riding Regiment marched south to help stem the German Army’s relentless progress. Forced to march under the cover of darkness along congested roads the battalion took nearly 8 hours to reach new positions between the villages of Bucquay and Achiet-le-Petit .At the 3.30am the following morning the German artillery commenced a prolonged and violent barrage against the 5th Battalion. At daybreak

GUNNER 231717 ALFRED VERTIGAN, 331st BRIGADE ROYAL FIELD ARTILLERY, DIED OF WOUNDS 25TH MARCH 1918 AGED 19 YEARS Born in the small Norfolk village of Sculthorpe in 1898 Alfred was one of five children born to Ellen Vertigan. It isn’t possible to say who his father was since Ellen’s husband, Jacob, had in fact died in 1896 and there is no evidence of her having remarried before Alfred’s birth. By 1911 and now aged 12 years old Alfred is recorded as being an inmate at an Indus trial School at Aylsham, Norfolk. Industrial Schools were part of the justice system where young children would be sent if they were difficult to control or deemed out of control of their parents. At some stage following his release from Aylsham, probably at the age of 16, Alfred arrived in Yorkshire were he took employment as a labourer at Moorside Farm, Denton, which was owned by William Ramsden. It was from Denton that he was conscripted into the Army in 1917 and joined the 331st Brigade Royal Field Art

PRIVATE 78358 FRED PLOWS, 19th BATTALION DURHAM LIGHT INFANTRY (2nd COUNTY PALS). KILLED IN ACTION (BELIEVED), 24th MARCH 1918 AGED 19. The 19th Durham Light Infantry were in the Ypres area as the German Spring Offensive pounded the British front line north of the Somme. As the scale of the German attack became clear the British began to move reinforcements in attempt to shore up their weak defences. On the 22nd March 1918 the 19th DLI entrained for the long journey south , reaching the Somme are the following day. Moved up to the front line by bus the battalion reached Maricourt at 3am on 24th March. Serving with the 19th DLI was 19 year old Fred Plows who had enlisted into the army the previous summer and had arrived at the front in December 1917. Within hours of arriving at Maricourt Fred would be killed shot in the head and killed instantly. Fred was born in Ilkley in 1899 the son of a stonemason Arthur Plows and his wife Hannah. He was the middle of three sons and

HILDA MARY STONES (NEE JOY) DROWNED 7 th MAY 1915 AGED 33 On the 1 st May 1915 the 31.000 ton Cunard Liner RMS Lusitania with 1962 passenger’s crew left New York harbour bound for the Port of Liverpool. The Lusitania had made the crossing regularly and this was the 202 time that she had made the voyage across the Atlantic. Seven days later and steaming at 18 knots the ship approached the Irish coast near to the lighthouse at Kinsale for the final leg of her journey. At 2.10 pm Kaptain Walther Schweiger the commander of the German U-Boat U20 saw the Lusitania through his periscope and ordered a torpedo to be fired even though he knew that the ship was unarmed and carrying civilian passengers. Several people on the deck of the ship saw the track of the approaching torpedo which hit the Lusitania on the starboard side causing a violent explosion which rocked the ship. As seawater rushed in through a gaping hole Lusitania took on a severe list and within just eighteen minutes the

2nd LIEUTENANT STANLEY NOEL WITTING, 2nd BATTALION ROYAL MARINE LIGHT INFANTRY. KILLED IN ACTION 22nd MARCH 1918 AGED 21 YEARS . Stanley Witting was born on 29th August 1897 in the Potternewton area of Leeds, the youngest of two sons born to cloth merchant Charles Witting and his wife Emily. The family moved to Scarborough where Stanley was educated at the local Grammar School before coming to Ilkley just before the First World War where they lived in a house called Shenley on  Westville Road. In December 1913 at the age 16 Stanley joined the National and Provincial Bank and was sent to the York Branch as an apprentice. It was whilst working at the Branch that his manager described him as 'a very sharp and intelligent boy who was picking up his duties very quickly'. It was whilst living in York that Stanley volunteered for the army on 20th December 1915. It was another nine months before he arrived in France in September 1916 when he was attached to an

PRIVATE 205067 GEORGE HURTLEY 7th BATTALION NORTHAMPTONSHIRE REGIMENT. KILLED IN ACTION 22nd MARCH 1918, AGED 27 YEARS. The German Spring Offensive which had commenced on the 21st March 1918 continued the following day. Infiltration tactics and lightening artillery bombardments had caused considerable confusion in the British lines to the north of the Somme Valley. The British rushed reserve battalions forward to try and stem the retreat but they often came into action in a piecemeal fashion and coordination of counterattacks was difficult. The 7th battalion Northamptonshire Regiment was one such unit thrown in to slow the German advance on the 22nd March 1918. But often the speed of events overtook the orders that were given by the British High Command and units were frequently left not knowing their objective. the battalion was ordered forward near the village of Le Verguier but then forced to retreat as the German continued to cause havoc with the new style of attack. As

PRIVATE 23/346 ALBERT SILVERWOOD, 15th BATTALION DURHAM LIGHT INFANTRY. KILLED IN ACTION 21st MARCH 1918, AGED 32 YEARS. Albert Silverwood was another Ilkley soldier to be killed on the opening day of the German Spring Offensive. On the morning of the attack his unit the 15th Durham Light Infantry were in reserve trenches but as the German attack began to engulf the British units in the forward zone, they were ordered forward. As other units began to retire in the face of an aggressive German tactics Harry's battalion instead chose to counterattack. Driving the enemy back the Durhams achieved one of the few British successes that day. But their bravery was to no avail as they became isolated and forced to retire. The battalion lost over 450 men during the attack, over half their number, including Albert Silverwood. Born in 1886 at 8 Leeds Road, Ilkley, Albert was one of four sons born to stone mason Richard Silverwood and his wife Clara. By the age of 14 he had lef

PRIVATE 103569 HARRY BELLERBY, 36th BATTALION MACHINE GUN CORPS. KILLED IN ACTION 21st MARCH 1918, AGED 21 YEARS . At 4.40am on the morning of the 21st April 1918 German artillery began to bombard the British lines. In little over 5 hours they fired over 1.000.000 gas and high explosive shells into the front held by the British Fifth Army to begin what was called the Kaiserschlacte, the Kaisers Battle. The barrage was on a momentous scale and had been carefully planned to hit  not only units in the front line but also those further back such as heavy artillery positions. As the barrage subsided crack German 'Stormtroops' using infiltration tactics advanced against the British trenches. The British battalions in the undermanned front line took the full force of the assault and whole units would effectively cease to exist. As the aggressive German attack progressed the British front began to crumple and then collapsed forcing the defenders to retreat. The Germans poured

PRIVATE 12842 GEORGE PEACOCK, 1/6th BATTALION WEST RIDING REGIMENT. DIED OF WOUNDS 28th FEBRUARY 1918, AGED 22 YEARS . George Peacock was another 'Ilkley Pal' who had enlisted into the 9th Battalion The West Riding Regiment in late August 1914. Born in Ilkley in 1895 he was one of ten children of stonemason William Peacock and his wife Maria. Raised at 4 Nelson Road, before the war he had been employed by Jabez Dobson of Woodbank as a gardener. George was also a committed mem ber of the Methodist community and worshipped at Christchurch on The Grove. George Peacock remained with the Ilkley Pals during his training and landed in France with the battalion in July 1915. During his service he was wounded at least twice and in 1917 upon his return from convalescence was posted away from the Ilkley Pals and into the 1/6th Battalion of the West Riding Regiment. On the 27th February 1918 the 1/6th were in the front line east of Ypres near to the village of Pold