Ilkley in The First World War

LIEUTENANT HENRY COWARD, 1st BATTALION BORDER REGIMENT DIED OF WOUNDS 20 th APRIL 1917 AGED 37 In mid April 1917 Henry Coward wrote to his father describing his first taste of action on the Western Front and his sorrow that his battalion was now moving out of the front line and away from the fighting. Although, he had joined the army in the early days of the war his experience as a teacher and Officer Cadet training meant that his skills were utilized to train new recruits. Henry was born in Sheffield in 1880 the son of the famous conductor Henry Coward (later Sir) and his wife Louise in a large house in the best suburb of the city. His father was the conductor of the prestigious Sheffield Choral Society and had an international reputation. Like his father, young Henry excelled at music and was a noted classical scholar and sportsman, playing football and cricket and was also proficient at both swimming and wrestling. He attended the Wesley College in the City and from t

SERGEANT THOMAS HARPER WHITAKER. 1 st BATTALION NIGERIA REGIMENT, WEST AFRICAN FRONTIER FORCE. DIED 29 th JANUARY 1918 AGED 37 Harper Whitaker was born in Horsforth in 1881 the son of a stone contractor Thomas Whitaker and his wife Anne. One of twelve children he and his family lived in a large house called Summerfield, on New Road Side. A pupil at Ilkley Grammar School he went on to study civil engineering and during the early years of the 20 th Century went to work on the Lagos Railway in Nigeria. He was in the colony at the outbreak of war in 1914 and made an application to join one of the locally raised regiments who would see action in nearby German controlled Cameroon. However, because of the essential nature of his work he remained at his post with the railway company. By 1917 local West African units had been formed into the West African Frontier Force (WAFF) and sent across the continent into East Africa where they were to assist in the long running campai

LANCE CORPORAL 1962 HENRY SCOTT (HARRY) CRYER, 1/6 th BATTALION WEST YORKSHIRE REGIMENT. KILLED IN ACTION 19 th AUGUST 1915, AGED 28. It was at about 10.30am on the 19 th August 1915 that Lance Corporal Harry Cryer went into a dugout in the reserve lines of the 6 th West Yorkshire Regiment who were in position to the north of Ypres. As he roused one of the occupants a German shell landed on the parapet of the trench killing Harry instantly. Harry was born in Muswell Hill, London in 1897 the eldest son of Walter and Mary Scott who both originated in the West Riding. His father seems to have been involved in a number of business ventures in London and Essex but by the early 1900s he had brought his family back to Yorkshire. The family came to live in Ilkley and for a number of years occupied a house on St James Road and Harry attended Ilkley Grammar School. By 1911 the Cryer family were living on Duckworth Grove in the Girlington area of Bradford and Harry was employed