PRIVATE 23/346 ALBERT SILVERWOOD, 15th BATTALION DURHAM LIGHT INFANTRY. KILLED IN ACTION 21st MARCH 1918, AGED 32 YEARS.


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 left school and was employed as an apprentice boot maker. It appears that he was also a talented cricketer and played as a professional at both the Victoria Spen Cricket club in Cleckheaton and the Goole Club in the East Riding.

On the 25th July 1914 Albert married a local girl, Hariet Micklethwaite at St John's Church in Ben Rhydding and together they lived at Hillside Cottage in the village. Albert had returned to work as a bootmaker with a workshop Brighton Place, present day Brighton Road. Harry volunteered for the army in december 1915 but chose to defer his actual call-up until 12th June 1916 when he was assigned to the 15th Battalion Durham Light Infantry. In November that year he was posted to France and took part in the Battle of Arras in April 1917 when he was wounded in the left arm.
In April 1918 Albert was reported missing in action and with no other news his wife Harriet was forced to seek help from the International Red Cross, hoping, no doubt that he was a prisoner of war. Her hopes were dashed, however, in May 1918 when they reported that they had not been able to find Albert. Repeated letters to the war office would elicit no positive response and in December 1918 Harriet was awarded a pension of 12/6d (69p) per week for the loss of her husband.

As a postscript to this story Harriet received notification in 1919 that the German authorities had sent a list of British Dead recovered from the battlefield which included Alberts name. The Germans also returned a disc that had been recovered from his remains. For two years Harriet would repeatedly request that she be allowed to see the disc which she believed she could recognise as belonging to her husband. Sadly, there is no record of her ever seeing the disc.

Harriet Silverwood would live for another 42 years after the death of her husband. The couple had no no children and she would never remarry.

Whatever happened to Albert Silverwood body is unknown but it was probably placed into an unmarked mass grave. Today he is commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial to the missing and remembered with pride on our war memorial in Ilkley.

Photo courtesy James Cooper




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